In many fields of healthcare, repeated measurement and monitoring of certain analytes present in bodily fluids, such as blood or urine, is of particular importance. One special case concerns, for example, patients affected by diabetes who need to measure the concentration of glucose very frequently in order to respond promptly with the correct medication. Exceeding certain blood glucose limits can result in coma or death. Even mildly elevated levels of blood glucose can result in gradually deteriorating health requiring long term monitoring to keep glycemic levels under control. As such, blood glucose data are useful both to the physician who has the task to determine the most appropriate long-term therapy, and to the patient who daily needs to adapt the administration of medications according to the measured glucose levels. These depend not only on the diet, but also on the daily physical activity and many other factors, which influence the metabolism.
A number of small, reliable and low-cost medical devices, which can be handheld, are available today to the patient for self monitoring. Devices for controlled administration of therapeutic agents, such as insulin pumps, are also commercially available. The number of exemplary medical devices to which this invention refers to is, however, not limited to diabetes care. Worth mentioning are, for example, those devices for monitoring blood pressure or other blood parameters like coagulation factors.
Complications associated with the use of such medical devices can arise when the patient or user suffers from poor eyesight or unsteady hands. These conditions might exist, for example, due to a congenital defect, a trauma, or an abnormal concentration of glucose in the blood, especially if the abnormal glucose concentration occurs over long periods. In other words, diabetic patients frequently suffer from visual impairment or a lack of fine motor skills, such as hand tremors.